The present invention relates to improved creamy pudding compositions and foodstuffs desirably having a similar consistency. More particularly, it concerns the ability of certain low molecular weight, aliphatic acid esters of polyhydric alcohols such as triacetin, to impart to said pudding compositions a creamy texture when the latter contains certain modified starches.
In the preparation of the pudding the housewife is likely to employ rapid mechanical agitation in hydrating the dry mix ingredients with the milk. She usually chooses to employ cold milk in preparing the instant pudding and it is quite often the case that the mix solution foams during mixing. As a result of the rapid onset of gelation this foaming produces an unattractive pebbly surface on the dessert; in addition the internal texture assumes a somewhat aerated condition. For many dessert users the above aerated dessert texture is not appealing to the pallet.
Numerous attempts have been made to solve the foaming problem for standard instant puddings. One example is U.S. Pat. No. 2,801,924, issued to Clausi et al, which discloses the incorporation of a vegetable oil in instant pudding mixes as a foam depressant. According to U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,355, such oils do reduce in part the foaming tendency of instant pudding mixes, but they are effective only when certain manufacturing and recipe conditions are adhered to and when non-hydroxy propylated starches are used. The said U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,355 proposes to avoid the short comings of the edible oils as foam depressants by incorporating in the instant pudding mix, in addition, a hydrophilic lipin dissolved in what is termed "a dry-to-the-touch free-flowing readily dispersible granular shortening." The hydrophilic lipins are generally partial fatty acid esters of water soluble hydroxy substances such as glycerol, sugars and hydroxy carboxcylic acids. Such oils and their incorporation with hydrophilic lipins are not operative when the modified starches of this application are used as the starch ingredient.
Another instant pudding mix on the market contains lecithin as the foam depressant. However, U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,391 alleges that lecithin will function as a foam dispersant under certain conditions when used in a proper amount in an instant pudding mix. However, the patent discloses that to obtain satisfactory results certain mixing conditions must be adhered to during compounding of the dry mix and the foam depressing action of the lecithin is reduced considerably on storage of mixes containing it. Lecithin also has the disadvantage that it may impart an off taste to the pudding.
Triacetin and similar low molecular weight aliphatic acid esters have traditionally been employed as plastisizers, softening agents, fixatives and more recently as dispersing agents for hydrophilic colloids which employed at concentrations of from about 1 to about 15 percent by weight of the colloid which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,036 issued Jan. 16, 1968. These di- and trisubstituted esters of glycerol have extremely low volatility, slight flavor and aroma, excellent water solubility at room temperature, negligible or no solubilization of hydrophilic polymers, and very high densities that aid in sinking particles of the colloidal polymer into the solvent. Triacetin and the aliphatic acid esters disclosed in the above patent function as dispersants by coating the hydrophilic colloid thereby acting as a wetting agent to allow the individual particle of the hydrophilic colloids to dissolve freely in water without any type of inter-reaction between the two components.
When pregelatinized non-propoxylated starches are used for making instant pudding the chief difficulty is surface foam and not internal foaming. It is the surface (pebbly surface) with which the above patents are chiefly concerned. When the newer propoxylated starches are used then the chief difficulty is the internal aeration to produce puddings with a spongy texture.
In contrast to the prior art, it has been found that certain low molecular weight, aliphatic acid esters of polyhydric alcohols interact with hydroxy propylated starch materials to interfer with the film forming properties of the latter. This results in creamier food preparations which are devoid of foam throughout. In other words, tolerance to the mixing step is achieved through the use of the above materials to consistantly give a creamy, non aerated type pudding.